Today my son had something called the, “cap and map” baseline for his upcoming neural feedback sessions. He had electrodes put on his earlobes first for reference points. Then he had a cap with electrodes in specific spots put on his head. There was a rainbow ribbon cable coming out of the cap that Dr. Dan connected to a calibration machine.
He put the machine in my son’s lap and told him to help him as he went through each of the sensors, making sure each got down to 3.0 or lower in impedance. He put a needle thing into each of the caps holes. I say “needle thing” because it was a syringe, but it was a blunt one, only responsible for injecting conductive gel into the hole. But he had to wiggle the blunt end of the syringe around on my son’s scalp a bit and that was somewhat uncomfortable.
But my son helped and he only flinched a few times. Then he got to sit in the large, brown, reclining chair and start the baseline test. The test wasn’t too terribly exciting. He first got to look at his brain waves, which was mostly a lot of small wiggly lines on the screen. Then he had to sit still for ninety seconds with his eyes open. Then ninety seconds with his eyes closed. Dr. Dan only needed fifteen seconds of clean reading during this time, but you need longer when you have a wiggly child.
Next my son read for the next data reading. Then there was a math sheet while more data was collected. Then he had the eyes open and eyes closed readings again. And then the cap came off and he was done.
Dr. Dan said he could see some of the things that had shown up in the evaluation he’d had from the baseline. And that’s saying a lot because it was just little variations in squiggles on the screen to me. He was trained by one of the pioneers in the field who told him you have to be able to understand the raw data.
As we were getting ready to go Dr. Dan told my son he worked with chidden and adults for all sorts of things and he couldn’t promise, but one of his students had gotten better at Fortnite after working with him. My son wanted to know how soon he could come back.
The Big Boy Update: My son found a “300 Funniest Fortnite Fails” video on YouTube that’s a compilation of Fortnite clips. He and his father are in the living room as I write this, both laughing out loud as each clip goes past, saying things like, “woah,” “oh my gosh" and “that hurt”.
The Tiny Girl Sleepy Update: My daughter was on the couch tonight, shortly before bed. Apparently she was dozing off because when my husband came over to wake her to brush her teeth she said, “can we have just one more page?” He asked her if she was dreaming and she said, “I was dreaming you were reading a beautiful book."
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Monday, December 3, 2018
Christmas Jammies
I don’t call them, “jammies” but for the purposes of this post I will. A few years ago there was a video of a family in their, “Christmas Jammies”. It was apparently very cute and funny and went viral. The family was from the town we live in. I never saw the video until about a month ago and people were right, it was both cute and funny.
I had been browsing my China connection for stocking things and was getting inundated with Christmas things, including pajamas. So I got some for our family. They came in and I saved them for the first day of the month as my children’s Advent calendar item.
Last night, with a very sleepy daughter and a husband who didn’t want to try on his “jammies” at first, we did manage to get a picture or two of us taken by my nephew, Kyle, who was still in town for one more night before heading back to college after the wedding weekend.
I like my Christmas pajamas. I think the rest of the family might even like theirs too. They’re red, white and black with a white moose on the front of the chest. My husband wasn’t sure at all about them but he looks pretty darned good in a moose sleeping shirt.
The Big Boy Update: My son wanted me to come upstairs after dinner to see a surprise. It was this:
“See," he told me, “that’s Santa in the middle. Those are his super hero helpers on his sides.” Then he told me what each superhero was named and what their super power was. I wasn’t able to type that fast so I missed most of it. The ones with the extra heads were my favorite. Keeping Santa and Christmas safe, thanks to my son.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter was singing a familiar song in the car, only the lyrics weren’t quite the way I remembered them I thought as I heard her say, “our country, rid of thee"
I had been browsing my China connection for stocking things and was getting inundated with Christmas things, including pajamas. So I got some for our family. They came in and I saved them for the first day of the month as my children’s Advent calendar item.
Last night, with a very sleepy daughter and a husband who didn’t want to try on his “jammies” at first, we did manage to get a picture or two of us taken by my nephew, Kyle, who was still in town for one more night before heading back to college after the wedding weekend.
I like my Christmas pajamas. I think the rest of the family might even like theirs too. They’re red, white and black with a white moose on the front of the chest. My husband wasn’t sure at all about them but he looks pretty darned good in a moose sleeping shirt.
The Big Boy Update: My son wanted me to come upstairs after dinner to see a surprise. It was this:
“See," he told me, “that’s Santa in the middle. Those are his super hero helpers on his sides.” Then he told me what each superhero was named and what their super power was. I wasn’t able to type that fast so I missed most of it. The ones with the extra heads were my favorite. Keeping Santa and Christmas safe, thanks to my son.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter was singing a familiar song in the car, only the lyrics weren’t quite the way I remembered them I thought as I heard her say, “our country, rid of thee"
Sunday, December 2, 2018
You Look Like a Witch
Last night after the wedding was over and I was home I got a headache for some reason. The thing that helps me more than anything with headaches is to get in a very hot tub and submerge my head all the way in the water so I can just breathe out of my nose. This seems to change the pressure in my head or does something else physiologically and the headache abates. Or, and this could equally be the reason, I relax and the headache goes away simply on that merit alone.
Regardless the reason, I knew I was going to bed as soon as I got out of the tub. And that meant going to bed with wet hair. And that meant sleeping on a towel on the pillow because I don’t like a wet pillow.
It also meant another thing—my hair was going to be curly, frizzy and crazy looking in the morning. Not to worry, I would wash it and look presentable for the after wedding brunch at nine. But there wasn’t the time with the children and seven other things happening so I had to go with crazy hair.
I ran my fingers through it and it bushed out some and I told my husband I thought it looked like eighties permed hair but he told me it looked fine. I suppose it did, but it was different for me, unlike the more controlled version of my hair I usually present to the public.
No one said anything at the brunch (which was lovely) except for my mother-in-law, who told me, “you look like a witch.” That’s exactly what it looked like, I told her. She’d nailed it and made me laugh in the process. We said next year maybe I could be a witch for Halloween. I already had the hair part of the costume figured out.
The Big Boy Update: This morning at lunch my son came in, saying, “Merry Christmas”. Mostly he was playing with the word, “marry” because Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian had gotten married the evening before. He went from, “Happy Marry” to “Merry Christmas” and then said, “I don’t want to marry Christmas, I’m only eight!"
The Tiny Girl Update: My daughter fell asleep at six o’clock this evening on the couch. She also napped for a while after brunch. It’s unlike her so I checked her temperature but she doesn’t say she feels bad and she’s not febrile. Maybe it was from the day’s fun with all her relatives in town.
Regardless the reason, I knew I was going to bed as soon as I got out of the tub. And that meant going to bed with wet hair. And that meant sleeping on a towel on the pillow because I don’t like a wet pillow.
It also meant another thing—my hair was going to be curly, frizzy and crazy looking in the morning. Not to worry, I would wash it and look presentable for the after wedding brunch at nine. But there wasn’t the time with the children and seven other things happening so I had to go with crazy hair.
I ran my fingers through it and it bushed out some and I told my husband I thought it looked like eighties permed hair but he told me it looked fine. I suppose it did, but it was different for me, unlike the more controlled version of my hair I usually present to the public.
No one said anything at the brunch (which was lovely) except for my mother-in-law, who told me, “you look like a witch.” That’s exactly what it looked like, I told her. She’d nailed it and made me laugh in the process. We said next year maybe I could be a witch for Halloween. I already had the hair part of the costume figured out.
The Big Boy Update: This morning at lunch my son came in, saying, “Merry Christmas”. Mostly he was playing with the word, “marry” because Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian had gotten married the evening before. He went from, “Happy Marry” to “Merry Christmas” and then said, “I don’t want to marry Christmas, I’m only eight!"
The Tiny Girl Update: My daughter fell asleep at six o’clock this evening on the couch. She also napped for a while after brunch. It’s unlike her so I checked her temperature but she doesn’t say she feels bad and she’s not febrile. Maybe it was from the day’s fun with all her relatives in town.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
On Applying Eyeshadow
Today was my brother-in-law’s wedding. Now I have two brother-in-laws. They’re married. Uncle Bob is still our Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian is also still our Uncle Brian, but now he’s officially Uncle Brian. I can’t be happier for both of them.
It was one of those wedding days that gets away from you. We, those of us who weren’t getting married, had time in the morning to get things done, or to relax, or perhaps a bit of both. And we did get some of both done. We had family staying with us and had time to catch up with them and their juvenile dog, Daisy, who my dog had the best time playing with.
My children were excited about the wedding attire they had for the wedding. When it got time to get ready my son put on his navy sports coat, white shirt, navy bow tie with rainbow polka dots and looked so good we couldn’t stop telling him how sharp he looked.
My daughter had a navy dress with crinoline and a navy lace top. She wore white tights and red felt shoes. She looked darling. All the navy color was because the grooms had navy tuxedos for their attire and I couldn’t help but jump in on the color theme.
I was running late with all the getting ready of everything else and didn’t have time to do my hair, which is an endeavor in and of itself because it’s long and takes time. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t because it started raining and it would have gone frizzy no matter how assiduously I’d dried it—so I put it up. What I had decided to do, because it was a formal occasion, was to put on makeup.
Some people do this daily. I do this every few years. I have a bag in the closet with the makeup I got for my wedding nine years ago. I pulled it out and tried to remember what each thing was for. Foundation, check. That pink liquid Nana said I should get to put on my cheekbones to make me look happier, done. Lipstick? My husband said don’t wear any because he didn’t think I needed it. I had a mild-ish color he said was okay so I went with it. Mascara? No way, I touch my eyes too much. Eye liner I don’t know how to put on without making a mess. Maybe eye shadow?
I was looking in the bag for the two colors of eye shadow and the applicator brush, trying to remember if I put the dark color closer to my nose and the lighter color towards the sides of my face or if it was the other way around. I said to myself mostly out loud, "I don’t remember where to put on the eye shadow.” My husband said, “I think you put it on your eyelids.” Isn’t he the best, my husband? Always ready to help.
On the way in the car we talked to the children about the ceremony, what an officiant was and the flow of the wedding since this was the first wedding they were involved in. They were bringing rings down the aisle and presenting them to the grooms. We had a book, that was actually a secret box. When Scott, the officiant, asked who was presenting the rings, the children were to say, “we are!” (When they did the audience laughed at their little excited voices.) Then they were to walk down the aisle, holding the box between them. Bob and Brian would take their rings out and then the children would come back to their seats with the box.
And they did just that. My daughter, who is very good at following instructions, told them when they took their rings, “we have to take the box back” which also got another chuckle from the audience. I didn’t get choked up until the very end of the reading they had asked me to do, which was a relief, I didn’t want to mess up my part of the ceremony by not being able to say the reading clearly.
Afterwards we had our sitter take the children to dinner and then she took them to a Hanukkah party her family was going to. That meant the rest of us as adults could enjoy the dinner and some uninterrupted adult conversation. It was delicious food, good company, happy wedding. A Great day.
The Big Boy Update: My son liked his dress attire so much he wanted to know if he could keep it on for the rest of the night after leaving the wedding. He doesn’t like to be told he’s too cute or handsome, but tonight was an exception, he was positively pleased with all the compliments he got on how he looked.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter fell asleep in the car before we got to the wedding. She wasn’t in a good mood and I was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to do her part in the wedding, delivering the rings. Some ginger ale and a braille version of the program for her to read and she perked up. She listened to the whole ceremony with her eyes closed. She knew it was an important day for Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian.
It was one of those wedding days that gets away from you. We, those of us who weren’t getting married, had time in the morning to get things done, or to relax, or perhaps a bit of both. And we did get some of both done. We had family staying with us and had time to catch up with them and their juvenile dog, Daisy, who my dog had the best time playing with.
My children were excited about the wedding attire they had for the wedding. When it got time to get ready my son put on his navy sports coat, white shirt, navy bow tie with rainbow polka dots and looked so good we couldn’t stop telling him how sharp he looked.
My daughter had a navy dress with crinoline and a navy lace top. She wore white tights and red felt shoes. She looked darling. All the navy color was because the grooms had navy tuxedos for their attire and I couldn’t help but jump in on the color theme.
I was running late with all the getting ready of everything else and didn’t have time to do my hair, which is an endeavor in and of itself because it’s long and takes time. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t because it started raining and it would have gone frizzy no matter how assiduously I’d dried it—so I put it up. What I had decided to do, because it was a formal occasion, was to put on makeup.
Some people do this daily. I do this every few years. I have a bag in the closet with the makeup I got for my wedding nine years ago. I pulled it out and tried to remember what each thing was for. Foundation, check. That pink liquid Nana said I should get to put on my cheekbones to make me look happier, done. Lipstick? My husband said don’t wear any because he didn’t think I needed it. I had a mild-ish color he said was okay so I went with it. Mascara? No way, I touch my eyes too much. Eye liner I don’t know how to put on without making a mess. Maybe eye shadow?
I was looking in the bag for the two colors of eye shadow and the applicator brush, trying to remember if I put the dark color closer to my nose and the lighter color towards the sides of my face or if it was the other way around. I said to myself mostly out loud, "I don’t remember where to put on the eye shadow.” My husband said, “I think you put it on your eyelids.” Isn’t he the best, my husband? Always ready to help.
On the way in the car we talked to the children about the ceremony, what an officiant was and the flow of the wedding since this was the first wedding they were involved in. They were bringing rings down the aisle and presenting them to the grooms. We had a book, that was actually a secret box. When Scott, the officiant, asked who was presenting the rings, the children were to say, “we are!” (When they did the audience laughed at their little excited voices.) Then they were to walk down the aisle, holding the box between them. Bob and Brian would take their rings out and then the children would come back to their seats with the box.
And they did just that. My daughter, who is very good at following instructions, told them when they took their rings, “we have to take the box back” which also got another chuckle from the audience. I didn’t get choked up until the very end of the reading they had asked me to do, which was a relief, I didn’t want to mess up my part of the ceremony by not being able to say the reading clearly.
Afterwards we had our sitter take the children to dinner and then she took them to a Hanukkah party her family was going to. That meant the rest of us as adults could enjoy the dinner and some uninterrupted adult conversation. It was delicious food, good company, happy wedding. A Great day.
The Big Boy Update: My son liked his dress attire so much he wanted to know if he could keep it on for the rest of the night after leaving the wedding. He doesn’t like to be told he’s too cute or handsome, but tonight was an exception, he was positively pleased with all the compliments he got on how he looked.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter fell asleep in the car before we got to the wedding. She wasn’t in a good mood and I was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to do her part in the wedding, delivering the rings. Some ginger ale and a braille version of the program for her to read and she perked up. She listened to the whole ceremony with her eyes closed. She knew it was an important day for Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian.
Friday, November 30, 2018
I Had a Blast
Tonight is the beginning of the festivities for my brother-in-law and his partner’s wedding. I’ve been pretty excited about the weekend and if tonight is any indication, it’s going to be a weekend to remember.
Relatives and friends are coming from all over. My husband and his parents hosted a party at our house for all the guests who arrived today, prior to tomorrow’s wedding. We tried to make our house festive with holiday decorations and had some Italian food brought in. There was champagne and a dessert I ordered from a pastry chef I loved.
Everyone is departing now and I’ve snuck into the bedroom to write a quick blog post. Thankfully Aunt A and Uncle Bob’s mother were taking lots of pictures. Tomorrow is the wedding and Sunday there’s a brunch. Tonight’s wrapping up, I had a blast. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
The Big Boy Chronicles: At the beginning of the party my son disappeared. We found out he was standing right outside the front door. When I opened it to tell him Grandma Leef had a present for him he told me, “not now. I’m greeting the guests.”
The Getting Bigger Girl Update: We got my daughter a navy dress for the wedding tomorrow to match the wedding main color of navy. We also got her a second dress for tonight. Tonight’s dress had an attached necklace. She’s never had a necklace to go with an outfit before. She liked dressing and wearing her red dress shoes. I didn’t think she liked the necklace until later in the night when it disconnected from her dress. She came to me upset about it. I told her it was an easy fix and I’d fix it for her in the morning so she could go back to the party.
Relatives and friends are coming from all over. My husband and his parents hosted a party at our house for all the guests who arrived today, prior to tomorrow’s wedding. We tried to make our house festive with holiday decorations and had some Italian food brought in. There was champagne and a dessert I ordered from a pastry chef I loved.
Everyone is departing now and I’ve snuck into the bedroom to write a quick blog post. Thankfully Aunt A and Uncle Bob’s mother were taking lots of pictures. Tomorrow is the wedding and Sunday there’s a brunch. Tonight’s wrapping up, I had a blast. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
The Big Boy Chronicles: At the beginning of the party my son disappeared. We found out he was standing right outside the front door. When I opened it to tell him Grandma Leef had a present for him he told me, “not now. I’m greeting the guests.”
The Getting Bigger Girl Update: We got my daughter a navy dress for the wedding tomorrow to match the wedding main color of navy. We also got her a second dress for tonight. Tonight’s dress had an attached necklace. She’s never had a necklace to go with an outfit before. She liked dressing and wearing her red dress shoes. I didn’t think she liked the necklace until later in the night when it disconnected from her dress. She came to me upset about it. I told her it was an easy fix and I’d fix it for her in the morning so she could go back to the party.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Table Manners
I remember as a child learning from my mother how to set a table. I found out which utensils went on which side of the plate and how the knife should be faced. There was some confusion on my part because I’m left-handed and while I know where the glass should be placed, it was always the wrong side for me. But I remembered and it was good to know how to set a table.
My mother also taught me table manners including how to use the utensils to eat: how to hold a fork, use a knife and fork and ladle soup into my mouth. Later, my father taught me how to use chopsticks and how to eat sushi, which was also a good thing because my love of sushi has only grown since then.
Today, how often do I use those table manners? I was thinking about this while we were in Las Vegas as the group of friends who went together to run in the race met for brunch at one of the large, casino buffets the next morning. I was eating, they were all eating, and no one was paying any attention to how people were using their utensils. To be sure, no one was shoveling food into their mouths with their hands alone, but barring that, it was really anything goes.
I think my generation is a much more casual one than that of my parents. When we have people for dinner we don’t set the table, we have people get their own utensils out of the drawer and stack the plates on the island. The food sits on the island or stove, depending on what my husband decided to cook for the day. Everyone serves themselves and selects what and how much of whatever they want.
If someone wants seconds, they get up from the table and get themselves more most of the time. Everyone has picked out their own beverage and if they need more or want something different, they typically go get what they’re looking for. No one minds or thinks a thing of it; everyone is self-sufficient.
We should, but we don’t, adhere more to the, “ask to be excused” model of a group dinner for the children. This part is something we need to work on. The children like to get up and down and sitting still is always a challenge for my children. If it’s a special dinner we ask them to wait with us and wait until everyone is ready for dessert—even though they’re always ready for dessert first.
It seems to work well for my generation. But I did think about it, wondering if my peers really are using proper utensil usage. Do they put their elbows on the table? Are their napkins in their lap? Do they ask to be excused when they want to get up?
One thing my peers do is always say thank you. Everyone is complimentary and generally grateful for a meal served to them at our home (well, that they self-served). There isn’t a lot of judgement that I’ve noticed, mostly because there are so many less, “rules”. I have Emily Post’s manners and etiquette book on my bookshelf in the living room. I haven’t pulled it out in years, maybe I should review it and see how different we are culturally today.
The Big Boy's Chronicles: My son is excited about the, “Cap and Map” session he’s going to have next week to map his brain for upcoming Neural Training we’re going to do for him to help with his focus and processing speed. I told him (truthfully) that the cap Dr. Dan will be putting on him is like what the astronauts have used under their space suits. He was disappointed he has to wait until next week; he wanted to go today
The Tiny Girl’s Update: There’s a game on Alexa called, “Freeze Dancer”. Alexa plays a song and then says, “freeze”. Then she tells you what to do for the next song (hop, spin, plod like an elephant, high knees, act lie a monkey, etc.). One time Alexa said, “close your eyes and dance.” My daughter told Alexa back, “but I’m blind…”. Then she offered, “I guess I could close my one eye” (since she has only one eye she can see with.)
My mother also taught me table manners including how to use the utensils to eat: how to hold a fork, use a knife and fork and ladle soup into my mouth. Later, my father taught me how to use chopsticks and how to eat sushi, which was also a good thing because my love of sushi has only grown since then.
Today, how often do I use those table manners? I was thinking about this while we were in Las Vegas as the group of friends who went together to run in the race met for brunch at one of the large, casino buffets the next morning. I was eating, they were all eating, and no one was paying any attention to how people were using their utensils. To be sure, no one was shoveling food into their mouths with their hands alone, but barring that, it was really anything goes.
I think my generation is a much more casual one than that of my parents. When we have people for dinner we don’t set the table, we have people get their own utensils out of the drawer and stack the plates on the island. The food sits on the island or stove, depending on what my husband decided to cook for the day. Everyone serves themselves and selects what and how much of whatever they want.
If someone wants seconds, they get up from the table and get themselves more most of the time. Everyone has picked out their own beverage and if they need more or want something different, they typically go get what they’re looking for. No one minds or thinks a thing of it; everyone is self-sufficient.
We should, but we don’t, adhere more to the, “ask to be excused” model of a group dinner for the children. This part is something we need to work on. The children like to get up and down and sitting still is always a challenge for my children. If it’s a special dinner we ask them to wait with us and wait until everyone is ready for dessert—even though they’re always ready for dessert first.
It seems to work well for my generation. But I did think about it, wondering if my peers really are using proper utensil usage. Do they put their elbows on the table? Are their napkins in their lap? Do they ask to be excused when they want to get up?
One thing my peers do is always say thank you. Everyone is complimentary and generally grateful for a meal served to them at our home (well, that they self-served). There isn’t a lot of judgement that I’ve noticed, mostly because there are so many less, “rules”. I have Emily Post’s manners and etiquette book on my bookshelf in the living room. I haven’t pulled it out in years, maybe I should review it and see how different we are culturally today.
The Big Boy's Chronicles: My son is excited about the, “Cap and Map” session he’s going to have next week to map his brain for upcoming Neural Training we’re going to do for him to help with his focus and processing speed. I told him (truthfully) that the cap Dr. Dan will be putting on him is like what the astronauts have used under their space suits. He was disappointed he has to wait until next week; he wanted to go today
The Tiny Girl’s Update: There’s a game on Alexa called, “Freeze Dancer”. Alexa plays a song and then says, “freeze”. Then she tells you what to do for the next song (hop, spin, plod like an elephant, high knees, act lie a monkey, etc.). One time Alexa said, “close your eyes and dance.” My daughter told Alexa back, “but I’m blind…”. Then she offered, “I guess I could close my one eye” (since she has only one eye she can see with.)
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
The Program Assignment
I’m very excited about this weekend because Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian are getting married. They’ve been planning the weekend for some time and it’s all coming together. They’re getting married in town here, which has put us at the hub of everything. And if you know me, I like to be right in the thick of things, so that suits me just fine.
My children are really looking forward to the wedding. They have their special attire for the day and know there will be a party at our house for wedding guests on Friday night. My daughter and son are telling me how many days there are until the wedding and they’re looking forward to having their aunts and uncles in town for the weekend.
Tonight I had a special assignment. The wedding programs came in the mail today. I opened the package and pulled out one of the programs. Both Bob and Brian have been very thoughtful about how my daughter would be able to experience their wedding with her lack of vision. One of the ideas they had was for her to have her own program printed in braille.
I don’t think it would have even occurred to me to have a program for her to read. Maybe in part I still think of my children as small little humans who can’t read or who wouldn’t be interested in reading a wedding program. Only I know my son is going to read through the whole thing and ask questions about it before the wedding begins. So why wouldn’t my daughter too?
So tonight I went through the program and identified the whole-word or letter group contractions she’s learned so that I could type up her special program using her braille writer. But I didn’t type it yet. Because I make a lot of mistakes. Because the backspace is my best friend on a keyboard. And when it comes to braille, I’m in dire need of a backspace button.
I’m not bad at typing braille, but I’m trying to convert a letter into a group of one to six dots, rotated ninety degrees from the angle of the keyboard. And some of the letters I’m converting are letter groups or words and have their own dot pattern. Hence the mistakes. Thankfully you can easily erase mistakes in braille using a high-tech erasing tool called your fingernail. You just push the dots back into the paper and type the correct character.
My daughter is going to be very excited to have very own program in Braille at the wedding on Saturday.
The Big Boy Chronicles: I came into the bedroom the other day to take a phone call. I had been on the phone about five minutes when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Movement where there shouldn’t have been any at a couch chair in the corner of our bedroom. I got up and looked down behind the chair in the tiny, corner crevice where my children used to play to find my son with his iPad, without permission. I didn’t know they still fit back there.
The Tiny Girl Update: My daughter wanted to tell me the colors of the cars that were passing us when we were in the car the other day. Her vision is so poor that we’re lucky if she can tell when a car passes, let alone the color. But she can tell some things and there are a few colors she can discern over others. As she stared intently out the window she muttered to herself, “don’t blow this for me…"
My children are really looking forward to the wedding. They have their special attire for the day and know there will be a party at our house for wedding guests on Friday night. My daughter and son are telling me how many days there are until the wedding and they’re looking forward to having their aunts and uncles in town for the weekend.
Tonight I had a special assignment. The wedding programs came in the mail today. I opened the package and pulled out one of the programs. Both Bob and Brian have been very thoughtful about how my daughter would be able to experience their wedding with her lack of vision. One of the ideas they had was for her to have her own program printed in braille.
I don’t think it would have even occurred to me to have a program for her to read. Maybe in part I still think of my children as small little humans who can’t read or who wouldn’t be interested in reading a wedding program. Only I know my son is going to read through the whole thing and ask questions about it before the wedding begins. So why wouldn’t my daughter too?
So tonight I went through the program and identified the whole-word or letter group contractions she’s learned so that I could type up her special program using her braille writer. But I didn’t type it yet. Because I make a lot of mistakes. Because the backspace is my best friend on a keyboard. And when it comes to braille, I’m in dire need of a backspace button.
I’m not bad at typing braille, but I’m trying to convert a letter into a group of one to six dots, rotated ninety degrees from the angle of the keyboard. And some of the letters I’m converting are letter groups or words and have their own dot pattern. Hence the mistakes. Thankfully you can easily erase mistakes in braille using a high-tech erasing tool called your fingernail. You just push the dots back into the paper and type the correct character.
My daughter is going to be very excited to have very own program in Braille at the wedding on Saturday.
The Big Boy Chronicles: I came into the bedroom the other day to take a phone call. I had been on the phone about five minutes when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Movement where there shouldn’t have been any at a couch chair in the corner of our bedroom. I got up and looked down behind the chair in the tiny, corner crevice where my children used to play to find my son with his iPad, without permission. I didn’t know they still fit back there.
The Tiny Girl Update: My daughter wanted to tell me the colors of the cars that were passing us when we were in the car the other day. Her vision is so poor that we’re lucky if she can tell when a car passes, let alone the color. But she can tell some things and there are a few colors she can discern over others. As she stared intently out the window she muttered to herself, “don’t blow this for me…"
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